Sing’oei allays fears of Ebola spread, says ‘mere contact does not lead to infection’

NAIROBI, Kenya, Oct 6— Foreign Affairs Principal Secretary Korir Sing’oei has sought to reassure Kenyans following the death of the country’s first confirmed Ebola patient, saying “mere contact” with an infected person does not lead to infection.

Sing’oei said Ebola is not a respiratory disease and spreads through the exchange of bodily fluids, as the government moves to trace and monitor people who may have been exposed to the patient.

“Ebola is not a respiratory disease. Spreads only where exchange of fluids happens. Mere contact does not lead to infection,” Sing’oei said.

The reassurance comes amid concerns that the patient may have interacted with a significant number of people before he was diagnosed and isolated.

The patient, who had lived in the Democratic Republic of Congo (DRC) for about seven years, travelled by road from the DRC through Uganda before boarding a Jambojet flight to Nairobi on October 3.

He arrived at Jomo Kenyatta International Airport at about 1:10pm before being picked up by a relative and a friend and taken to Nairobi Hospital, where he was isolated.

He later tested positive for Ebola Bundibugyo virus disease and died on Monday night.

Authorities have identified 28 contacts, including family members and healthcare workers who attended to the patient.

They are also tracing 23 passengers and four crew members who travelled on the same flight from Uganda to Nairobi.

Sing’oei said the government was working with the airline to identify people who may have been exposed and place them under quarantine.

“The Ministry is working with the budget airline to map the few persons who may be compromised and quarantine them,” he said.

Acting Director-General for Health Dr Patrick Amoth said identified contacts would be monitored for up to 21 days, covering the upper end of Ebola’s incubation period.

“Ebola incubation is from 2-21 days and therefore isolation will take place up to 21 days,” Amoth said.

He said anyone who develops symptoms during the monitoring period would be transferred to an Ebola treatment unit for care.

“If anyone develops symptoms within this period the person will be transported from the incubation site to an Ebola treatment unit for care,” he said.

Health Cabinet Secretary Aden Duale confirmed Kenya’s first imported Ebola case on Tuesday, saying the government had activated measures to prevent further transmission.

The patient had developed illness about a month before returning to Kenya and had sought treatment at several health facilities in the DRC before travelling through Uganda.

At Nairobi Hospital, he presented with fever, chills, intense fatigue, weakness, muscle pain, painful swallowing, a sore throat and bleeding under the skin at an injection site.

A sample taken based on his symptoms and travel history subsequently tested positive for Ebola.

​Bruhan Makong is a Senior News Reporter for Capital FM in Nairobi, covering diplomacy, foreign policy, national security, climate, and human rights across East Africa and the wider region.